Novig is doubling down on its provocative Sydney Sweeney campaign, rolling out a second spot as the sports prediction platform reports a sharp increase in trading volume, app downloads and new users following the first wave of creative.
The new ad, “No BS,” continues the stripped-down visual style introduced in September’s “Just Sports” spot, once again putting Sweeney front and center while pushing harder on Novig’s point of difference: unlike broader prediction platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, Novig focuses exclusively on sports.
In the new 30-second spot, Sweeney takes aim at some of the stranger corners of prediction markets, referencing wagers tied to politics, war, and other real-world events before drawing a line between those offerings and Novig’s sports-only positioning. Watch below:
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Sydney Sweeney’s nude Novig ad draws backlash
The campaign has been controversial from the start. The first spot, which featured Sweeney partially covered by sports equipment, drew criticism from female athletes and others who argued that the creative sexualized women in sports.
Novig has stood by the work.
CEO and co-founder Jacob Fortinsky told Ad Age that the company never intended to apologize for the campaign and said the creative was always planned as a two-part push. “We were very happy with how the first campaign did,” Fortinsky said. “This was always the plan — to have these two tentpole moments of the campaign; two big creative pushes.”
According to Novig, the attention translated into significant business results.
Since the first campaign launched September 9, trading volume has roughly tripled. The company says first-time depositors increased 361.8 percent, while app downloads rose 260.9 percent.
Active traders were also up 96 percent month over month and 260 percent year over year in September.
Fortinsky acknowledged that not all of that growth can be attributed directly to Sweeney, noting that the beginning of NFL season naturally boosts activity across the category. Still, Novig believes the campaign significantly outperformed the broader seasonal lift.
The social numbers were also substantial. According to the company, Sweeney’s first two Instagram posts generated 185 million organic views, while campaign content produced another 14 million views on X.
Novig’s Instagram following grew 171 percent after launch, while its X audience increased 43 percent. “If you asked people two months ago if they knew Novig, most people would say no,” Fortinsky said. “And now most people, I think, have a sense of who we are, what we stand for.”
Sweeney’s involvement also goes beyond appearing in the ads. The actress is an equity partner in Novig and reportedly played an active role in shaping the campaign’s creative direction. Fortinsky said the company originally brought her a broader concept, but Sweeney pushed the team toward a simpler idea centered on the brand’s sports-only position.
According to Fortinsky, her message was essentially: keep it simple and drive home what makes Novig different.
Novig developed the campaign internally, with Alex Thompson, Head of Creative, leading the effort alongside Sweeney and her team. Sweetshop served as production partner, with Clay Wiener directing. Rumble Studios and Good Ear Music Supervision handled sound and music.
For Novig, the creative is also a lesson in scale. The company says it has spent only a fraction of what larger competitors typically put behind national campaigns, forcing the team to rely more heavily on talent, provocation and earned attention.
“You have to cut through the noise in some way,” Fortinsky said.
That part, at least, is hard to argue with.
Whether people loved the campaign or hated it, they noticed it. And for a young brand trying to establish itself in an increasingly crowded prediction market space, that attention now appears to be translating into users.
The first campaign got people talking.
The second makes sure they know what Novig actually does.
